Improvement in nursery-gates



UNITED STATES JOHN W. BOUGHTON, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN NURSERY-GATES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 139,232, dated May 27, 1873; application filed November 4, 1872.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J OHN W. BOUGHTON, of the city and county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented an Improved N ursery-Gate, of which the following is a specification:

It is the object of my invention to produce a nursery-gate, or guard, to prevent young children from passing through doors or falling out of windows, which shall be adjustable to the varied width of such openings, and self-retaining in them, and at the same time light and cheap; and it consists in the combination of sliding racks, which expand and contract to fit the opening with a supplementary locking-bar, with an adjusting-screw or cam-lever, or lever and link, to fix the gate firmly in position when closed.

In the drawing, Figure 1 is a front elevation, showing my improved gate as applied to a door. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary section, showing the application of the thumb-screw to the supplementary bar. Fig. 3 is a like section, showing the application of a lever and link for the same purpose; and Fig. 4 a modification of the inner set of bars.

The gate consists, essentially, of two racks, A B, formedof vertical end-bars and horizontal rods 0 cl, so constructed and arranged that the rods 0 c slide in holes through the inner upright bars of B, and the rods (1 d slide in like manner in holes in the inner upright of A. When drawn out, the gate has width horizontally equal to thatof the two racks less the thickness of one of the uprights, and when closed together the two occupy but little more space than one alone. The inner upright bars are provided with thumb-screws e e,

which take into the rods 0 and d and retain the racks in any position with relation to each other, as required.

For use in windows, the outer bars are provided with small spurs ff, or with any other For use in doorways, it is desirable to have the gate hung so that it may be readily opened for the passage of adults. To readily accomplish this, I form tenons on the top and bottom of one of the outer uprights g, and insert screw-eyes h h into the door-jamb M, in the proper position, leaving sufficient space for the upper tenon to be raised enough to release the lower one from the eye, so that the gate will be removable this forms joints onwhich it swings like a door. On the opposite outer upright k, I affix, loosely, a supplementarybar, Z, by means of pins or continuations of the rods 0 c. This bar is movable to or fI'OlIl the rack by any suitable device, a very simple and convenient one for the purpose being the thumbscrew, shown in Fig. 2; by forcing it against the door-jamb the spurs f f engage with the same and secure it until withdrawn by reversing the screw. I

Another device for the purpose is the lever and link, shown in Fig; 3, which are arranged as a toggle joint, so that great force may be easily applied to secure the gate in place, the reverse movement of the lever unfastenin g it by retracting the bar. In this form the handle of the lever may be removable, so as to be laid aside so that children cannot unlock it.

When it is desirable to not mar the window-casing, I use an elastic material, as India rubber, felt, or the like, which may be applied to the bars in various ways.

As a substitute for the inner bars, iron sockets may be used, with screws to fix them to the rods 0 c and dd, with equivalent effect, as shown in Fig. 4.

I claim as my invention- A nursery-gate, formed of the sliding racks A B, rods 0 d, in combination with the thumbscrews e e, supplementary tightening-bar l,

and tightening screw or lever, substantially as herein shown and described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscr bing witnesses.

. JOHN W. BOUGHTON. Witnesses:

I). R. JAMESON, D. M. STALKHOUSE. 

